Rate My Professor Stephen Debus

Dr. Stephen J. S. Debus is an Adjunct Senior Lecturer and Honorary Research Associate in the Department of Zoology, School of Environmental and Rural Science, at the University of New England (UNE) in Armidale, Australia, a position he has held since 2021. He earned his Master of Science in 1994 and Doctor of Philosophy in 2004, both from UNE, with his PhD thesis titled 'The impact of habitat fragmentation on woodland birds: a test of some hypotheses in New England,' supervised by Professor Hugh Ford. Earlier in his career, Debus served as a Research Fellow in the Department of Zoology at UNE from 1990 to 2006 and as a Postdoctoral Fellow in the School of Environmental and Rural Sciences. He also works as an ecological consultant. Over more than 40 years, Debus has established himself as one of Australia's foremost experts on raptors, conducting extensive field research on their ecology, behaviour, diets, breeding biology, and conservation.

Debus's prolific publication record includes authoritative field guides and books such as The Birds of Prey of Australia: A Field Guide to Australian Raptors (1998, third edition 2019), The Owls of Australia: A Field Guide to Australian Night Birds (2009), Australian Birds of Prey in Flight: A Photographic Guide (2019), Australasian Eagles and Eagle-Like Birds (2017), and Australian Falcons: Ecology, Behaviour and Conservation (2022). He has authored or co-authored over 240 peer-reviewed papers on topics including breeding diets and habitats of species like the Little Eagle, Wedge-tailed Eagle, Black Falcon, and Southern Boobook. His work garners 1,504 citations on ResearchGate. Debus has made significant editorial contributions, serving as editor for Australasian Raptor News (1980–1989), Australian Bird Watcher (1984–2002), Australian Field Ornithology (2003–2015), and Boobook (2004–2015). He participates in recovery teams for the Regent Honeyeater since 2008 and Red Goshawk since 2014, and held committee roles with the Australian Bird Study Association. His honors include the Whitley Award (1998), Distinguished Service Award from Bird Observers Club of Australia (2005), and D. L. Serventy Medal from BirdLife Australia (2015).